


The Diminishing Light

by PhilosophyOfNonImmortality



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ancestral Spirits, Before Alvarez Arc, Creatures that cannot be named, Demons, Gen, Gods, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, It won't be as easy as she thinks, Lucy wants to get stronger, Much much worse, Not neccessarily good ones, Strong Lucy Heartfilia, after Tartarus ARC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:29:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21649849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhilosophyOfNonImmortality/pseuds/PhilosophyOfNonImmortality
Summary: The guild has disbanded. Everyone left to pave their own path, leaving Lucy Heartfilia alone with a broken heart.Yet as she stood before the ruin of her former guild,  she couldn't help but think.Not like this.She won't allow this to happen again, even if it means to walk a path where her own survival was uncertain.
Relationships: Lucy Heartfilia/?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	1. Resolve

what did she have now? Guild is gone, disbanded. Lucy closed her eyes, letting out a sob. Her remaining family. All. Gone. Each and every person dissappeared who knows where. Even Levy.

Natsu. Her best friend, left her with a note. A mere, godforsaken note.  
"Is a single note all I am worth?" She wondered sourly, expressing her thoughts outloud to no one in particular. Its not like anyone was here.  
True, he did lose his father, but it's not like he was the only one to lose something cherished.

For what exactly did she sacrifice Aquarius? For people who threw out their friendships out of window, like it was nothing.  
She knew she was being unfair, deep inside. They didn't know what she had done.

But they didn't even bother to ask.  
They-  
No.  
She won't allow grief to poison her thoughts - to taint happy memories of her friends - because no matter what, they don't deserve that.  
She gathered herself, deeply exhaling.  
What use is to stay here, staring at the reminder of what used to be, wallowing in self pity?  
Mama would've scolded her, Lucy knew. And yet- She shook her head again as to disperse negative feelings.  
There is no use for melancholy and neither for regrets.  
She threw one last glance at the place that used to be her second home and turned away, broken key of Aquarius glinting on her neck, hanging like a necklace.  
She needs to think about what to do next and there is only one place where she is able to do so clearly.

It's time to visit mama.

***

To her relief, the travel to her mother's grave was uneventful.  
The emotions she felt were...odd, staring at the grave her mother's remains lay in.  
"Mama... what would you have me do? What would you do?" She whispered.  
Lucy has never felt so lost.  
She sighed, a hand reaching the engraving of the name upon the gravestone.

HERE LIES LAYLA HEARTFILIA  
X746 - X777

She thought about all that has happened, about the guild, about Natsu, about Aquarius. She has lost so much, she realized. And partly it was due to her own weakness. Had she been strong enough, she wouldn't need to sacrifice her dearest spirit. 

She missed her. Her scolding, her half-hearted insults, lacking a bite for her to truly mean them.  
She missed the silent stargazing the two undergone together when nights at her old home were particularly lonely.  
So weak.  
If she weren't so weak, none of this would have happened.  
Hands clenching, she gazed at the grave of her mother once more, the expression on her face turning into resolute, firm frown.  
It's time for begones be begones.

She prepared herself for what will come next, knowing her decision will not be accepted easily.  
"Loke."  
The spirit appeared immediately, the usual incantation not needed, his wild orange hair as visible as ever.  
"Lucy?" He asked gently, taking in her appearence. He furrowed his eyebrows, none expecting the resolute look on her face.  
"I need to get stronger." answered Lucy.  
At that, his expression softened again.  
"It was not your-" She interrupted him again, repeating even more firmly.  
"Loke. I need. to. get. stronger." She stressed, her eyes begging him to understand.  
"Of course. I will inform Capricorn - he is still far better teacher than I am, after all."  
She exhaled softly, before replying. "No, Loke. I don't want that." She paused for a moment, then continued.  
"I wish to visit the Necropolis of Astreas."  
His breath hitched, eyes widening in shock as he stared at her.  
"The Pilgrimage." Disbelief and more than little fear was clear on him. "This is madness, Lucy!"  
"No, Loke! It has become clear I will never become strong enough to protect people I care about under normal circumstances. This is the only way. I am sick of not being strong enough!" She hissed, eyes narrowing in anger. "Look at what happened, Loke. I will never see Aquarius again. The guild is gone. Natsu is who knows where. No, Loke. I have had enough."  
"But even still, Lucy, what you are asking for..."  
The Pilgrimage. The bane of the ancients. The Graveyard of the Celestial Mages.  
"I know Loke, I know! But what choice I have?"  
He stared at her, begging her to reconsider.  
After few moments, he closed his eyes, gritting his teeth.  
"L-Lucy. You know we also care about you, don't you? What it would do to us if something happened to you." He pleaded, his gaze never leaving her own.  
"I must do it, Loke. For my own sake. If, in the future, happened something similar to what happened with Tartarus, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't do everything that I could do to get stronger."  
Loke's eyes desperately searched for any sign of hesistation in Lucy, snarling in frustration when he found none. This stuborn woman...  
"Fine! God damn it, Fine!" He huffed angrily, "I will inform Spirit King of your decision. The rest of the spirits, as well. But not a single of them will be happy with this, Lucy. Aquarius the least of all."  
She cringed when she thought of what would be reacting of the volative spirit.  
She will be, frankly speaking, pissed. No. Enraged beyond reason is far more likely.  
She sighed, before replying to Loke.  
"Nevertheless, I must do it. Please, tell them I ask them to understand."  
He snorted, a hint of anger still withing him, but said nothing.  
Lucy exhaled with relief.  
"Thank you, Loke. I promise I will do everything in my powers to get back." She hugged the Leo zodiac spirit, before she was embraced in return, even more strongly.  
"Please, Lucy." Loke breathed in the scent of her hair, as if to burn her smell into his memory.  
She knew what he pleaded for.  
"I will return, Loke. No matter what.That, I promise."  
And she meant it, because she couldn't do to her remaining family what she hated being done to herself.  
So she swore as a Celestial Mage.


	2. Interlude and Planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new Year, I am not happy with this, at all, but guessed I should post it anyway.
> 
> Something of a interlude chapter, the main thing will begin the next chapter.  
> I can't tell when the next one will be, as I am quite lazy, unfortunately. Hopefully soon.

The sea was calm.

A short, aged man was staring at the gentle waves rocking against reef, face absent of smile, frowning as he thought about what happened just few days ago.

The dissolution has been a single most difficult decision of his life, and yet, he knew, was a decision he could not – _would not_ regret. He won’t be so selfish and hold his children here – not when it would hinder their healing. Polryusica could heal majority of the wound of the physical nature, but even she, skilled healer she may be, falls short of the wounds of spiritual nature. The wounds on the soul.

It had been immensely painful to watch them go separate ways – but even so, it was for the best. Both for them and for what is to come.

A dull, throbbing pain made itself known in his chest, both literal and figurative.

Makarov Dreyar winced _._

 _It seems my age is finally catching up to me_. He thought mournfully, not for himself, but for those who cared for him, his scattered family.

The passage of time was unforgiving, as his body felt more and more pronouncedly during the last few months.

Suddenly, he felt a shift in eternano; his weary body stiffened in response, instantly alert from the years of experience as a Master Mage, before he recognized the magical signature that appeared.

His eyes narrowed, a glint of steel entering them as his body refused to relax.

It seemed that destruction of the council had one more unfortunate side effect.

“One would think,” he started, light magic in him shifted in response, eager as ever. “that after what you did, back then, you would not attempt to confront me again. I may be not as strong as I used to be, but I am still strong enough to deal with the likes of you,” he paused, apprehension growing as he felt no magical response from the unnamed man behind him.

_What are you up to, Jose Porla?_

Stiffling silence filled the immediate are withing two men, tension increasing.

The former Saint Wizard’s brown eyes watcher the smaller man carefully, before deciding to reply.

“Your suspicion is well warranted, I admit,” Jose conceded, voice holding none of the arrogance Makarov knew the man had from the previous interactions with him. “But I have not come to fight, nor have I come to stab in your back. There are, I fear, far more pressing matters.”

A snort has escaped the smaller man, disbelief obvious.

“And why, exactly, should I trust you?” Makarov turned, fully taking the ragged appearance of the man he now faced.

It seems the time had not been kind to that man either. His previous, chocolate brown hair with ponytail was now grey, his skin so pale it wouldn’t be amiss a corpse; further enhanced a dark circles under his eyes, tiredness visible in them. His body, in his prime no so long ago was now skinny, frail looking.

For a man supposed to be in his early forties, this was remarkable change.

 _And yet, despite that, his magic lost none of its potency._ Makarov noted in his mind as he examined the younger man.

“Hyberion send me,” Former Saint Wizard admitted, eyes searching something within the man, before continuing. 

“The First and all his followers are dead. Slaughtered to the last man.”

xxxxxxxxxx

The preparations, Lucy knew, were going to be vital. She stared at the ancient scrolls before her, concern visible on her face, contemplating.

The path to the beginning of the pilgrimage was surprisingly straightforward and not particularly threatening. The gate of the Astrals, where the pilgrimage began, lied in the mountains behind Oak Town which was accessible by train from Magnolia station. The mountain were perilous, true, but represented no significant threat –at least superficially - to even average mage. And Lucy, for all her self-denial, was not an average mage. True danger began once one began the pilgrimage, the gate leading to spatially removed mountainous location called Managoth’s Tears. Once inside, the celestial mage had to navigate through the dangerous peaks, which, according to ancient texts, have been filled with nameless creatures, particularly resistant to magic.

Quite an issue, considering mages are quite reliant on their magic. But Managoth’s Tears were not still not problem in itself – mages were allowed to return from pilgrimage with no backlash, which a few of them did – hence the reason why there was enough resources to come by about the tears – but sources grew significantly more scarce as the pilgrimage progressed. After the Tears followed Traitor’s Path, from which there were only few mentions of endless forests, difficult to orient in. And after that, there was nothing.

Either the celestial mages who survived decided to not to continue or the rest was killed. And any notes from the very few individuals that had managed to complete the pilgrimages were lost. Lucy, of course, tried to find more information through Crux but he did not know much more than she did.

The reason for that was simple – the celestial mages were supposed to complete the pilgrimage alone - the Celestial spirits were forbidden from entering the removed realm – their keys were temporarily returned, leaving most of the mages vulnerable.

After what happened with Tartaros, leaving her spirits left a particularly sour taste in Lucy’s mouth and yet, she knew, she had to do it.

“Perhaps the Trimen would know something,” Lucy muttered, “The archive magic is rather useful. Era’s library has been utterly destroyed by Jackal, so that was out. Maybe Hisui,” Lucy frowned, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration, considering her options.

She however discarded both ideas. The royal library, for its age, would have little information on what she wanted and Trimen would undoubtedly contact Erza, which would bring issues on its own.

Lucy sighed, pushing her blonde hair out of the way of her eyes, before standing from the table in her apartment. In this, she has been very lucky, as the building her apartment was in has been spared of any significant damage from the fight.

It seems like she would have to go in partially blind. She glanced at the rest of the room, deciding she will leave most of her things behind – they will be no use in the other dimension.

Provisions. Clean clothes. Water. A weapon, since her spirits were out. Something to make and to put out a fire. Something to mark the path she walked so she could return if she needed. Lucy listed in her mind, mentally checking to what she had.

Fleve Etoile would have to do, blond woman decided before moving to other items.

It was a pity Bisca and Alzack left so suddenly, a magic gun would be also useful.

Next, at least basic rune wards for alerting intruder in the area she will camp in. Once again, Lucy mourned that she couldn’t ask freed to make them, even if their absence was one of the reason of its need in the first place.

She grimaced. Rune wards of any kind were not cheap, and while she did have some money saved, It is still going to put considerable dent in her resources.

Nevertheless, it was important.

The rest of the things will be, thankfully, fairy easy to obtain.

 _All that remains,_ Lucy thought with a dread _, was to confront the land lady_.

***

“So you are finally leaving, huh?”

Lucy stood at her landlady’s door, shock visible on her face.

Seeing her expression, the short, obese lady with glasses scowled, immediately scolding,

“Oh, for god’s sake, girl, I am not stupid. Why else would you come here, few weeks after your guildmates left, while you already paid your rent? Only an idiot wouldn’t put two and two together.” The middle-aged lady pierced her with a stare. “How long?”

Lucy giggled nervously, as she always was in front of the fierce, small woman. “Well-“

A snort interrupted her, speaking.

“Nevermind that. I don’t care.” She turned around, getting back to her flat, before she twisted her head and glared at the blonde.

“Make sure to come back, girl. You are still a dunderhead, but still far better than the rest of the fools in this city. And for all that is holy, finish your damn book, I want to know what will Clarissa do.”


End file.
